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Rank and organization: Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, 49th Company,
5th Regiment, 2d Division, (Name changed to Ernest August Janson, see p.
444. ) Place and date: Near Chateau-Thierry, France, 6 June 1918. Entered
service at: Brooklyn, N.Y. Born. 17 August 1878, New York, N.Y. G.O. No.:
34, W.D., 1919. (Also received Navy Medal of Honor. ) Citation: Immediately
after the company to which he belonged had reached its objective on Hill
142, several hostile counterattacks were launched against the line before
the new position had been consolidated. G/Sgt. Hoffman was attempting to
organize a position on the north slope of the hill when he saw 12 of the
enemy, armed with 5 light machineguns, crawling toward his group. Giving
the alarm, he rushed the hostile detachment, bayoneted the 2 leaders, and
forced the others to flee, abandoning their guns. His quick action, initiative,
and courage drove the enemy from a position from which they could have
swept the hill with machinegun fire and forced the withdrawal of our troops.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
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